Analysis of Industries :: Technology Manufacturing Industries Essays

Analysis of Industries In today ¡Ã‚ ¦s advancing technology state, one must be aware of information management systems and how they are shaping lives. Many industries are involved in information technology, and it is that technology which enables them to survive. Five major industries are health, services, manufacturing, finance, and retail. It is hard to say which one is affected more by technology because they all are in their own individual ways. The topics of IT they all share, but the way that information technology is used and introduced in each industry makes them different. In such a highly competitive environment, businesses need to take advantage of all the technology they can in order to survive and gain the upper hand. This semester, I focused on the manufacturing industry because it is how many of products become products and how they are brought to us, the consumer. Data and Knowledge Management A company is made up of managers and employees. The hierarchy of the management team and the different levels of data information at each level needs need to be recognized, as does the fact that from top, strategic management to clerical and shop floor workers, all the members have varying needs regarding information systems. The general pyramid-shaped hierarchy is the most common organizational structure found in businesses. At the bottom are the clerical and shop floor workers, then the operational managers, next are the middle managers, and at the top are the senior managers. The largest group is the clerical and shop floor workers. Some common characteristics of information at each level are the data range, time span, level of detail, the source, the degree of structure, and the purpose. Data range is the amount of data from which information is extracted. Top management needs a wide data range while the lower levels need a narrow range to focus on their specific divisions. Time span refers to how long a period of time the data covers. Top management need data that reaches far into the past, while lower level managers need only a time span of hours or days. The level of detail is the degree to which the information generated is specific. For top management they need summarized information that is not greatly detailed, while operational managers need highly detailed information. The way that information is presented varies depending on the user or manager. Some different presentation methods are graphically, with text, tabular, or audibly.